Exodus of Indian students can cost Oz state 300-mn dollars annually

Published: Sunday, August 2, 2009, 11:52 [IST]

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Sydney, Aug 2 (ANI): The racist attacks on Indians can have a huge impact on the Australian economy, with New South Wales facing a potential loss of about 300 million dollars in revenue from a possible exodus of Indian students.

Acting Opposition education spokesman Andrew Stoner said an estimated 20,000 Indian students were studying in NSW at any one time, contributing close to 600 million dollars to the state economy in a year.

According to Access Economics estimates, the contribution of each international student to the Australian economy per year stands at 28,921 dollars, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Stoner said NSW could expect to lose about 289 million dollars per year if the number of Indian students were to drop by 50 per cent.

"If these reports are true, this is the equivalent of NSW losing close to 300 million dollars in exports. This would not only impact on jobs in NSW but it would also pose a threat to our international tourism industry," he said.

Stoner said if the fall in Indian student numbers increased to 80 per cent, there could be a 462.7 million dollars loss to the NSW economy, and added that this would be the equivalent to losing NSW's silver, lead and zinc export industries.

Indian education agents have reported that new student inquiries have halved, suggesting a large drop in enrolments may occur. Bad publicity about Indian students being attacked here has flooded the media in recent months, raising fears about the safety of study in Australia among families in India.

Delhi agent Kapil Chandok, who recruits for Sydney University and the University of NSW among other Australian tertiary institutions, said he had experienced a 50 per cent drop in new student inquiries.

He said more than 20 per cent of his students had withdrawn from courses in Australia in recent weeks, despite being granted study visas. (ANI)